


ringmaster marionette.

by kobusrain



Category: BEYOOOOONDS (Band), Hello! Project, こぶしファクトリー | Kobushi Factory
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Fantasy, Gen, Immortality, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-09-23 19:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20345620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kobusrain/pseuds/kobusrain
Summary: She wished to tell the story of the lonely ringmaster and her circus troupe, but it seemed too fantasy-like to be real.





	1. prologue.

Deep within a girl’s memories, there is a story that only she is aware of.

As she played with her beloved marionette, she gradually remembered every detail of the story, and began to tell the story aloud. At first, only the marionette listened, but as time passed, more people came around to listen to her tale, which she did not mind at all.

In fact, she wished to let everyone know the story. She thought that people deserve to hear the story of the circus crew that she once knew. Perhaps she was the only one who ever remembered the troupe existing, as their story seemed too fantasy-like to be real. A past that seemed so inhumane, and magic that no one knew the secret of but her.

But the girl thought that the story of the lonely ringmaster and her crew deserved to be in history books, or at least be remembered by the people who once attended the circus troupe’s shows.

The story of the lonely ringmaster who desired to find a crew to end her years of solitude and sought out the purpose of her existence. From beginning to end, the girl will tell the ringmaster’s story, as she played with the broken marionette that held so much importance in the ringmaster’s life. 

This is the story of the lonely Ringmaster Hirose Ayaka.


	2. Initiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She needed to turn into a ringmaster first.

_ Red and black. _

Slow and steady beeps. The little girl woke up to the sound of the heart monitor. At first, she was at a loss on figuring out where she was, but when her vision cleared all she saw were the white walls of the hospital room. Her body felt stiff to the point where she could not move a muscle, and even if she could, she was still bundled up in bandages. Ayaka said nothing, and instead looked around even more until a woman walked in.  _ The nurse _ , she realized, as the woman gasped. 

“Oh, you’re awake!” The short-haired woman gave a sweet smile. “How are you feeling, Ayaka?” 

Ayaka averted her gaze, and instead looked at her bandaged arms. She immediately understood why she was in the hospital, and before she could answer the nurse she started to look around. “H…. H-Hamachan…” she muttered. 

The nurse looked rather confused. “Hamachan?” she asked. “Oh, your doll?” She gave another smile, and walked over to the desk by the bed. There had been a broken marionette resting on it, with its strings cut and limbs missing. Part of its hollow body had also broken. “It’s a good thing I didn’t throw this away. It seemed so important to you.” The woman handed it to Ayaka, who struggled to even lift up her arms just to grab it. 

With the marionette safely in her arms now, however, Ayaka felt at ease. “... Mama and Papa…. They’re gone now, aren’t they…?” asked Ayaka, though for some reason there was no ounce of sadness in her tone. “Does this mean I’m going to be put into an orphanage?” 

“Yeah. But for now you’re going to have to stay in the hospital until you heal up completely. I’ll be taking care of you until you’re up and healthy again,” the woman replied, reaching to gently pat Ayaka on the head. “My name is Kobayashi Honoka, and I’ll be your nurse, Ayaka.”

* * *

During Ayaka’s stay in the hospital, Honoka had been nothing but genuinely kind to her. 

It made Ayaka feel like she had a mother again, as she got along fairly well with Honoka. She was not sure if it had been her profession that made her so good with dealing with Ayaka, but Honoka was able to get the child to open up to her rather quickly. As Ayaka recovered, Honoka was the only one she trusted, to the point where she would ask for the nurse if someone else came inside her hospital room. 

Her recovery had been steady. Honoka not only helped her with her physical recovery, but also her mental and emotional. It was clear that Ayaka needed someone to listen to her, and that was exactly what Honoka did. 

As the day of her move to the orphanage came close, Ayaka wanted to spend as much time with Honoka as possible. On the last day of her stay in the hospital, the two of them stayed in Ayaka’s room. The child held onto her broken marionette, with a soft, relaxed smile painted on her fair face. “I wish Miss Kobayashi was my mother, instead…”

Honoka widened her eyes. “Ayaka, you know I’m too young to be a mother, right?” she joked, as the small exchange was something they often told one another as a means to laugh. However, the look on Ayaka’s face prevented her from laughing her statement off, so she sighed and smiled gently. “I’m sure that you’ll get wonderful parents. You’re an amazing child, Ayaka, and you know what, I can just be your honorary big sister instead.” 

“Honorary big sister…? That sounds a lot better,” replied Ayaka, giggling a little. “Thank you for everything again, Miss Kobayashi. I’m going to miss you a lot.” 

She felt the nurse’s gentle hand on her head, lightly petting her. “You can save that for tomorrow when I bring you to the orphanage. You’ll make me sad if you say it now,” Honoka said with a small chuckle. As it was getting late, Honoka helped Ayaka lie down so that the child could rest for the evening. 

“Sweet dreams, Ayaka. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for you.”

* * *

The next day, just as Honoka said, had been long for Ayaka. But not in a way she expected it to be. 

Ayaka had not thought much about going to the orphanage, as Honoka kept her calm the whole time, however her surroundings started to look different. No longer were they in the city at that point, but instead were headed to the forest. Honoka kept a firm hold on Ayaka’s hand, and no matter how much the child prodded Honoka, the woman had not said anything. 

Eventually, they reached their destination. Before her was a big circus tent in the middle of the woods instead of an orphanage, and the look on Honoka’s face was something Ayaka had not seen during her entire stay in the hospital. Honoka had such a sad smile, full of regret. “Ayaka,” started the woman, crouching down to her level and giving her a pat on the head, yet her hand felt different to the child. “I’m really sorry. You’re not going to the orphanage but instead, this is your new home.”

“What do you mean?” asked Ayaka, but the woman only straightened up and glanced at the entrance. Two figures exited the circus tent, dressed up as a ringmaster and a dancer. They had smiles on their faces, but Ayaka felt a chill down her spine just from seeing them. The air around them suddenly felt cold to the child, that she stuck close and behind Honoka. 

“Ah, now is this the little Hirose Ayaka you promised me, Miss Kobayashi Honoka?” asked the ringmaster. Ayaka could tell that the ringmaster was a girl, but her image and voice threw her off at first. “You are such a delight to see, little Ayaka! I can definitely see the potential in you. My name is Hirai Miyo, but everyone in this circus calls me  _ Ringmaster Hirai _ . I’m going to be your  _ parent _ from now on.” 

The dancer stepped forward, immediately throwing her arms around the bewildered young child. “Oh, you are so adorable! I just want to play with you all day!” said the long haired woman, picking Ayaka up and spinning her around. Ayaka, who could not utter a single word due to how shocked she was, looked at Honoka for help. 

But instead, Miyo stepped in. “Utano, you’re scaring our dear little Ayaka. Put her down, please.” The ringmaster sighed as she earned a pout from Utano. “She is one of my dancers in the circus troupe, Satoyoshi Utano. She’s creepy, yes, but I promise you, she’s really nice.” 

As Ayaka was set down, she wanted to scamper right back to Honoka. 

“Now, then. Our business here is done. Utano will give you compensation for your trouble, Miss Kobayashi.” Miyo placed a hand on Ayaka’s shoulder before she could even reach for Honoka, leading her inside. “Come, little Ayaka. You’ve already said your goodbyes to your nurse, no?” Ayaka could not even answer, as the chill down her spine grew stronger. The air felt colder, and the last thing Ayaka saw as she looked back at Honoka was the glint of silver on Utano’s hand closing in on her nurse’s neck. 

The look of horror on Honoka’s face had permanently etched itself in Ayaka’s mind. 

Terrified of what her  _ parent _ could do now, Ayaka tried to move away from Miyo, yet the older woman only pulled her close. “Why do you seem so afraid, little Ayaka? Have you never seen a circus before?” asked Miyo, yet it was clear that she was pretending to feign innocence over what Utano did. She knew that Ayaka saw a glimpse of Honoka’s  _ unfortunate end _ , but Miyo was more than determined to keep Ayaka on her side. “My circus troupe will be your family from now on. I’ll introduce you to everyone but first, I want to get to know my child better.”

Miyo’s voice was quiet, which Ayaka knew to be highly uncharacteristic of a ringmaster to have. However, the quietness was less than reassuring for the young child, as at that point the chills on her back seemed permanent. 

The ringmaster took a glance at the broken marionette that even Ayaka forgot she had in her hands the whole time. “Oh, what’s that? I don’t think you’ve introduced me to your friend yet.” Miyo gestured to the marionette, making Ayaka gape at her for a split second. 

“This…. This is Hamachan,” answered Ayaka almost too hesitantly, holding the broken marionette close to her. The child noticed that Miyo was leading her to the back of the tent, which had been a long hallway lined with doors. Miyo had not said anything else, and instead only urged Ayaka to keep talking about the marionette. “... She broke because of an accident,” however, was the only thing she could say to Miyo. 

Seemingly satisfied with the rather useless information given to her, Miyo only smiled. “Ah, yes. Miss Kobayashi did tell me that you got into an accident. I assume that’s the same accident.” 

“So why did you make that creepy woman kill her?” 

The words came out of Ayaka’s mouth so instantly that it even shocked herself. She was still clearly afraid of Miyo, but the emotions from seeing Utano kill Honoka only reached her then that she needed her answers. Ayaka backed away from Miyo, who, at that point, had been startled by the child suddenly raising her voice. “Why did you have to kill Miss Kobayashi, then? You didn’t think I noticed it, did you? I still don’t understand why she brought me here, but was it necessary for you to do that?” 

Miyo crouched down to Ayaka’s level, the smile on her face disappeared and her bangs partly covering her eye. “She already finished her job, little Ayaka, and besides, you still have yet to let me explain this circus tent.” 

She stood up, opening the door before them. It had been Miyo’s bedroom, which also served as a dressing room of sorts. The woman pulled up a chair for Ayaka to sit on. “The reason why you are here, little Ayaka, is because I need an apprentice. Miss Kobayashi  _ promised _ me that she would bring me one but I had not expected you to be so strong-willed even after watching your nurse die. You definitely have the potential to be one of the greatest ringmasters in the world.

“As for Miss Kobayashi…. You see, this circus tent has a secret. It’s not known by anyone and  _ should not _ be known by anyone. Miss Kobayashi unfortunately stumbled upon our circus tent one day, and in exchange for her silence and life, we agreed on her bringing us a potential apprentice. I’m glad she did not disappoint, but she still knew too much that I had to get Utano to  _ give her compensation _ .” 

The casualness of Miyo’s voice only disturbed the young child. If she ran away now, they would find her, and kill her. There was no choice for her but to stay and be her new  _ parent’s _ apprentice. 

Miyo kept speaking, taking Ayaka’s silence as her processing everything. “You are still too scared, but the fact that you did not hesitate to ask me about Miss Kobayashi when your emotions finally caught up to you makes you a rather strong-willed child. You definitely are an interesting child, little Ayaka, and training you to be a ringmaster might just relieve me of my never-ending boredom.” 

_ Just what  _ is _ she?  _

Ayaka finally processed everything in her head. Perhaps her emotions were late once more, but she could not figure out how she should feel about being bound to the circus and to Miyo for eternity. At the same time, the child had nothing else left to lose. She had no parents, and the person that cared for her had already died. The only one she had left now was Miyo. “So what do I have to do to be a ringmaster?” asked Ayaka, eyes finally meeting with Miyo’s. She noticed how cold it was, unlike her parents’ eyes or Honoka’s. As if there was no ounce of life left in Miyo. 

“Patience, dear little Ayaka. It takes quite a while to train someone to be a ringmaster. It seems like such an easy job, but it requires a lot of effort to be so outgoing in front of an audience,” explained the ringmaster, chuckling a little. Ayaka observed the woman’s every movement. Her moods seemed to change way too often, as she now acted so cheerful. “But everything starts with an  _ initiation _ phase, dear child. In my circus troupe, everyone who earned their role had to go through an  _ initiation _ phase.” 

“Initiation phase?” Ayaka was not sure what the words meant. Miyo caught on and reached to pat the child’s head. 

“It simply means you have to be accepted into the circus troupe. A ritual, if you will.” Now that the word made a lot more sense to Ayaka, the child nodded. “The magic word for it is  _ Initium _ .”

The word sounded foreign to Ayaka, but the way Miyo said the word made it sound so fluent, as if the foreign language was Miyo’s native tongue. Having heard enough of Miyo’s explanation, however, Ayaka stood up. Hugging the broken marionette tightly against her chest, she finally spoke up in the clearest voice she mustered that day. 

“Then let’s start this initiation phase right away,  _ parent _ .”

* * *

Several years have passed since the  _ initiation phase _ that Miyo talked about. 

Everyday had been nothing but fun to Ayaka. Never did she think that staying with the murderer of her nurse would be enjoyable, but as time passed, her feelings about Miyo changed. Her emotions from before had changed, and all the malice in her gradually disappeared as she began to see Miyo as a real parent. Ayaka was changing without her knowledge as each day passed. She went on without being bothered by the strange occurrences such as the circus troupe’s gradual descent in numbers over the years as well as Miyo and Utano not aging a single day ever since their first meeting.

What stuck to Ayaka, however, was the fact that the word  _ Initium _ echoed in her mind constantly, ever since Miyo mentioned it to her. It bothered her at first, but gradually she became used to it. It was the  _ key word _ , as the ringmaster put it, and it seemed to also be part of the initiation process. Ayaka did not know what it meant, or why it kept repeating in her head. 

As soon as the word stopped echoing in her head, Miyo  _ gave _ her the title on her 20th birthday. 

At that point, Ayaka had completely grown into her role, and all feeling of being human completely left her. It almost seemed as if she became a doll, and the only thing driving her to live now was the desire to perform in front of an audience. Perhaps it was the sign of her maturity, as she had thrown away her long forgotten marionette. As soon as Miyo gave her the title of ringmaster, the only ones to have remained in the troupe was her and Utano, but Ayaka had not paid any attention to the fact. 

“Well, my dear Ayaka. I must say I am extremely impressed.  _ Initium _ might have taken a while, but the ten year wait was worth it as you have become a great ringmaster,” Miyo chimed, holding out her arms. There had been such a joyful expression plastered on her face, yet she stared at Ayaka with the same cold and lifeless eyes as before. “Now, before everything is finalized, I have one last thing to do.” 

Miyo excused herself and left the platform for a few minutes. During that time, Utano had immediately latched herself onto Ayaka as she usually would. “Ahh, Ayaka’s become a real ringmaster now! I’m so proud of you, little one!” Utano pinched Ayaka’s cheeks, giggling a little before squeezing her into another hug. “You’ve grown up to be such a wonderful lady, but you’re still a cute child to me!” 

“Stop being creepy, Utano,” Ayaka said immediately, prying her arms away. However, Utano only latched onto her once more, which made the younger sigh. “You know, you sound like a pedophile when you say things like that.” 

Utano whined. “Eh, but you just turned 20, didn’t you? It’s fine!” She earned another sigh from Ayaka, but before anything else could be said, Miyo returned holding a scepter with a purple crystal ball on top. 

Ayaka had seen the scepter many times, whenever Miyo would hold a performance in front of a non-existent audience. “Utano, come here for a second. I have to show dear Ayaka something fantastic.” 

Though the look of horror on Utano’s face told Ayaka that this was not something fantastic. Even without any words, Ayaka understood the fear coursing through Utano at the moment. “Hey, this wasn’t part of the deal, Miyo…! What gives?” protested Utano, yet Miyo pointed the tip of her scepter at Utano’s chest.

Miyo muttered out a few words. It was a different language, yet Ayaka understood her completely. 

_ Your time is up, so let your soul dance in the eternal abyss.  _

Everything that happened after seemed like it came straight out of a fantasy film, as the scepter glowed a blinding shade of purple while it  _ sucked  _ Utano’s soul out of her body. Now an empty husk, Utano’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground but instead of a thud, all Ayaka heard was rattling. Almost as if Utano’s body was made out of wood. 

“You see, dear Ayaka,” began Miyo, setting the scepter down. “I want to build a new circus troupe. It’s been my mission to find a replacement to this body that I have right now, and you showed me so much potential that I had to  _ keep _ you.” 

“That body?” asked Ayaka, narrowing her eyes. Miyo was inching closer to her with the scepter, but Ayaka was quick to take steps back. You… You’re going to take my soul? For what reason? You just  _ made _ me a ringmaster, didn’t you?” 

Miyo laughed. “You always amuse me with your straightforwardness, child. I just want to take over your body and create a new circus troupe as  _ you _ . Dear Ayaka, you’re not alive anymore. Just like Utano and the rest of the crew, and even me, you’ve become what you are -- a ringmaster that’s doomed to eternal life, or rather, an undead being.  _ Initium _ is a curse that I laid upon you.” 

Ayaka could not believe her ears. Because of Miyo’s words, something inside her mind shook her up as if it was trying to break her free from agreeing. “I’m not going to let you do what you want. You can  _ gladly _ screw off!” Pushing Miyo away, Ayaka ran out of the circus tent. 

She had nowhere to go, but she was still going to keep running. Logic finally took her over, ever since she watched Utano perish before her. Everything started to make sense to her as her mind went over all that seemed strange. Why the circus troupe members started to disappear. Why she started to feel less and less emotions as she grew older. Why the word  _ Initium _ kept echoing in her mind. 

Miyo killed her. Now Ayaka was an empty husk with a soul trapped inside. She was doomed as a ringmaster forever. 

Meanwhile back in the circus tent, the lonely Miyo looked rather bewildered that Ayaka suddenly lashed out to her. Though within seconds she found herself smiling and crouching down by Utano’s body. “It seems that Ayaka was  _ too _ strong-willed. She really did relieve me of my never-ending boredom. But she can’t escape this fate. She’s now  _ like me _ , so she’ll build her own circus troupe and try to challenge me again.” 

_ Prove to me that you can be a great ringmaster all by yourself, Ayaka. Let this show begin.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #BlameHiraiMiyo2k19


	3. Troupe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now she needed to build her troupe.

Ayaka had nowhere else to run. 

Though she had become aware of everything Miyo had done, there was no changing the fact that she still had nowhere to go. She was now a mere young adult who would never fit into society anymore, and trying to go back to a normal life had been completely pointless at that point when she was already  _ dead _ . The only thing Ayaka could do was stay in the forest, far away from where Miyo’s circus tent had been. She ran without thinking, and it was clear she did not know the way back at all. 

Ayaka situated herself by one of the trees. She did not feel tired despite running for a  _ long _ time, which proved the fact that Miyo really did kill her just to turn her into some undead being stuck in her role forever. As she rested -- as if there was any need to -- Ayaka thought about the past ten years of her life spent in the circus. There were so many things that passed her mind, as she lost her conscience due to Miyo’s curse upon her. 

The disappearance of the troupe members. Ayaka understood that it was Miyo slowly killing them off. Her lack of emotion over the past few years, which was a sign that she was becoming less human. Because of her lack of emotions, Ayaka threw away the only thing she kept dear; her long forgotten marionette. 

She needed Hamachan back. 

The girl had nothing else to do. She knew no more about the outside world aside from the knowledge she kept from when she was young. There was no way for her to pretend she was a normal being. Ayaka looked up at the dreary sky, though they made her feel absolutely nothing. “I wonder,” she started, taking a deep breath. Ayaka was beginning to formulate a plan in her head. If she was stuck as a ringmaster, then she was going to use it to her advantage. “I wonder if I can learn more about this  _ Initium _ without having to go back to that damned ringmaster.” 

It was easier said than done. All of the knowledge she knew about her newfound powers only came from Miyo’s words during their final moments together. Ayaka took nothing with her when she ran off, except for the clothes she wore. 

However, Ayaka still had the memories of when Miyo trained her to be a ringmaster. Now that she grew a conscience once more, Ayaka only needed to dig through her memories to figure out the oddities from her words and piece them together. Then she could have a starting point with her new mission. 

But she could not find anything. Not yet, at least. Not until Ayaka had a proper place to stay as the idea of staying outside in a forest littered with wild animals did not appeal to her.  _ If _ anything appealed to her at this point. “.... Would a circus tent do me well, though?” she asked herself, though in an almost joking manner in an attempt to make light of her situation. Ayaka only shook her head, looking at the empty space before her. 

Ayaka’s hands moved rather automatically, however, as she started conducting. She then remembered something that Miyo would always do whenever she was performing with the rest of the troupe. The conducting. It was as if Miyo was controlling her troupe members, and in that moment Ayaka understood that the woman was using some sort of magic. 

The magic that she now possessed, thanks to Miyo passing on some of her power to her. 

Slowly, a circus tent built itself up from the ground. It looked rather identical to Miyo’s tent, yet it had a light blue tint to it instead. When it was done, Ayaka put down her hands and gaped. “No way….” mumbled the young ringmaster. Upon entering, everything a circus required had been there already. “.... Well, I guess actually doing things saves me the time of actually having to learn them.” 

At least Ayaka had a place to stay, which allowed her to reflect on things easier. However, what Ayaka had not realized was the fact that the area of the forest she had been laid close to a path often taken by humans in the morning. It was already quite late at night, but Ayaka caught the sound of footsteps as soon as she exited the tent. Human footsteps, followed by the soft yet rapid tapping of a small animal’s paws. 

There was someone nearby. 

Ayaka quickly found the path, where a lone young woman about her age and a small dog on a leash had been strolling through. “H-Hey, you!” Ayaka called out, though it came out so awkwardly as if she was not sure how she should interact with another human being. After all, the only time she ever interacted with other beings for the past several years was when Miyo or Utano came up to talk to her. She never was the type to start conversations. 

The young woman stopped, though she looked bewildered by Ayaka’s rather haggard appearance and the costume she wore. “Eh, wait, Mini,” she told her dog, tugging on the leash a little while she still kept her attention on Ayaka. “Did you...need something?” 

The ringmaster trembled, though her wrist flicked back and forth as if she was trying to conduct in secret. She searched her mind for any sort of roles a circus member would have, but one glance upon the dog gave her an idea. “The initiation phase….  _ Initium _ ,” she whispered, and at first the young woman looked confused until her eyes turned glassy. As if she fell under Ayaka’s spell. She never remembered anything like this happening to her when Miyo did it. 

“Come, animal tamer. Back to our circus,” Ayaka continued on, testing to see if the young woman would follow. Surely enough, the woman did along with her puppy, and they made their way back to the circus. However, the moment they both stepped inside, Ayaka noticed that the woman held onto an empty leash. The small dog was nowhere in sight, when Ayaka knew it had been following them. The woman’s clothes also changed upon entering, and was now wearing something similar to Ayaka. 

Ayaka had just turned the woman into an animal tamer, but she was not sure if the curse was completed or not.

Her thought process had been interrupted when she heard some growls across the tent. Beyond the open door of the backstage entrance had been a few large cages containing animals, but what was odd about them was the fact that they did not look like animals at all. Their appearances, which had only been skeletal figures. The animals ranged from lions and elephants, to seals that were kept in little tubs of water. The young woman did not react, but Ayaka was impressed -- if she could be, that is. Before the woman could approach the cages, Ayaka stopped her, only remembering something last minute that needed to be addressed. 

“Name…. I didn’t get your name,” Ayaka stated. The other smiled, though it was nothing but coldness. Ayaka fully understood that the woman before her was now as dead as she is, but without a conscience like Utano had been. 

“Minami. My name is Nomura Minami.” 

The ringmaster nodded in understanding. “Minami…. I’m Ayaka. From now on, we’ll work together to build this circus, okay?” As the two looked at each other in agreeance, Ayaka found herself smiling. 

They were sure to form a friendship, even if neither one of them could feel a thing. 

* * *

Ever since Minami became a part of Ayaka’s circus group, the two of them worked together to help the ringmaster figure out her powers. 

They spent the next few years together, internalizing the  _ Initium  _ curse in their minds just so they could start building the circus troupe. Ayaka’s first two choices had been a pair of friends, named Sakurako and Rei, who wandered into the circus on accident. The ringmaster decided to use the two friends as test subjects. 

As Sakurako and Rei wandered into the tent, Ayaka and Minami were surprised at the fact that the two friends just entered without any thought. They often had passersby who would ask to stay inside if it started raining and would promptly leave as soon as the rain let up, but this was the first time that someone had just wandered in. 

But Ayaka formulated a plan. She and Minami were in the middle of a discussion until Sakurako and Rei walked in. “What brings you here…?” asked Ayaka, watching as the two girls tense up a little. 

“A-Ah, we were just curious as to why there was a tent here. We heard rumours about it but we didn’t think people were actually in it,” stuttered the taller of the two, Sakurako. Rei held onto her arm, seemingly hiding herself from the cold gaze that they felt from the two circus members. “S-Sorry for interrupting your time! We just wanted to see the inside!” 

Minami walked up to the two girls, observing them. She, too, knew what Ayaka was planning even if they never said it out loud to one another. “Ayaka, these two girls are brimming with curiosity, aren’t they?” Minami went back to Ayaka, smiling a little. “Do you think we should put on a small show for them? They can be our first audience.” The animal tamer did not wait for an answer from either Ayaka or the two girls, however, and trotted off backstage to fetch her animals. 

Ayaka sighed a little, but smiled once more at the two bemused girls. “I apologize for Minami.... She tends to rush things a lot, but why don’t you stay for a bit, like she suggested? It’s cold outside and you two look like you need some warmth.” Ayaka led the two girls to the bleachers, letting them sit down. “May I catch your names? I am Ayaka, and I’m the ringmaster of this circus.”

The girls exchanged looks with one another. Surely they were thinking about the sudden unsettling feeling that surrounded them, but surely enough the circus tent was a lot warmer than outside that they decided to stay and rest for a bit. “I’m Inoue Rei, and she’s Wada Sakurako,” introduced Rei, gesturing to her friend who bowed politely. Ayaka nodded, then headed to her podium as soon as she could see Minami leading a few of her skeletal animals out onto the stage. The sight of them made Rei and Sakurako gasp, backing up in their spots. “W-what!? Th-they’re…bones…?” 

“H-hey! What’s going on here…?” followed Sakurako, gripping her friend’s hand tightly. They only heard Ayaka’s laugh, which sent a chilling sensation down their spines. At that point, both girls were not sure if it was the chilling sensation that prevented them from leaving, or the fact that they were somewhat curious as to how the skeletal animals were going to perform circus tricks. Either way, they remained in their spots, holding onto each other’s hands and taking a deep breath in preparation of what is about to occur.

“Shh….” cooed Ayaka. Then, the ringmaster grinned and opened up her arms, now speaking in a voice that reverberated in the nearly empty circus tent. “Just watch as the animal tamer puts up a  _ spectacular _ ,  _ one-of-a-kind performance _ , and enjoy!”

As Minami was given the cue, she began to conduct with both hands. The skeletal animals did many tricks, such as the seals balancing and tossing balls around, the lions jumping through hoops, and having the animals stack one on top of the other to form a pyramid. This awed the speechless girls, but they could not bring themselves to make a single move. Not even an applause. As soon as Minami was done, she led the animals backstage and kept them in their cages once more. 

“What...what was that…?” Sakurako managed to croak out, eyes slowly shifting to the approaching Ayaka. “What  _ is _ this place?”

“You two really are curious. That curiosity alone is really interesting,” complimented Ayaka, and this time, it had been her turn to conduct. Ayaka already liked them, and decided to add Sakurako and Rei to her circus troupe as a tightrope walker and a trapeze girl respectively. 

Ayaka managed to add two more friends in her circus troupe. 

However, she did not stop there. Ayaka had nothing more to learn that she could only think up with Minami. The only thing left to do was build the rest of her circus troupe. Even though there were still people that stopped by every now and then for shelter, Ayaka and her circus troupe would put on a show every time just to give travellers an interesting yet horrifying memory once they leave. 

Yet Ayaka was picky, and would not choose just anyone. She waited patiently for someone to come in and awe her. Fortunately, she did not have to wait very long as four girls wandered in one evening, all with different motives. 

Reina had only gotten lost on the way home, as she took the wrong train. With her horrible sense of direction, which greatly amused Rei to the point where she even teased her for it, she ended up in the forest and walked into the circus tent for shelter and directions. 

Saya and Shiori walked into the circus hut upon hearing rumours about it. They seemed to be similar to how Rei and Sakurako wandered in. For the first time ever, Ayaka and the circus troupe heard that the newest rave with high school students had been their circus tent, as rumours spread of it being haunted. Saya and Shiori seemingly wanted to test their courage, believing the rumours and seeing if they were brave enough to survive a trip to the circus tent. Little did they know that the tent itself was an  _ actual _ circus tent. 

Rika, however, was the only one who intentionally came to the tent just to join the circus troupe. She had already been in one of their performances, though snuck out before Ayaka could even realize she was there in the first place. “I looked up to the trapeze girl so much that I was wondering if I could join…” she told Ayaka, which left the ringmaster bewildered. This made Rei  _ happy _ . 

“Ayaka, you  _ definitely _ have to bring this Rika girl into the troupe! Though, the other three are interesting as well, don’t you think? I just  _ wonder _ what else you guys are thinking about,” asked Rei, grinning at the other three. Ayaka and the rest of the circus troupe agreed, turning the three unfortunate souls who wandered in on accident into members of the troupe. 

Of course, Ayaka also turned Rika into one, though not as a trapeze girl as she had hoped. The sheer determination of Rika intrigued Ayaka, though she saw her potential to become an acrobat instead. Reina became a unicycler, Shiori a trampoline performer, and Saya a trapeze girl. 

Yet Ayaka was not done there. 

Something in her cracked the moment she started gathering circus troupe members. Every time she used the  _ Initium _ curse, she felt herself slipping away from reality bit by bit, losing whatever is left of her sanity. She started to grow  _ too _ into her role, and it was exactly what Miyo had predicted. Ayaka was far too gone. 

* * *

Another set of girls also caught Ayaka’s attention shortly after she found the four. They seemed to be quite a tight-knit group, despite the age difference. The oldest out of the four, who seemed at first to be the youngest, told Ayaka that the reason why they wandered into the tent was due to the fact that they were going on an adventure in the forest, and only came across the tent. 

They had curiosity and a sense of adventure. It was something Ayaka immediately picked up on, which she liked a lot. Ayaka held a show for them, with everyone playing their part perfectly as usual. As they performed, the four childish girls realized that everything they used had been made out of bones and blood. 

It only amused the four children. 

“This is definitely the treasure of our adventure right now,” the oldest, Kurumi, told the other three, Kokoro, Yuhane, and Momohime. They turned to Ayaka once more. “We actually lost one of our friends in the forest, but we were wondering if we could stay here for a bit just to rest before we go look for her?” 

“Of course,” answered Minami, though she only shifted her glance at Ayaka. There was a grin of amusement on the ringmaster’s face. “Well, before we show you to some rooms you can rest in, I believe we owe you one more thing. A party, right?”

Reina, Shiori, and Saya cheered. “A party! That sounds like so much fun!” exclaimed Saya, walking up to Momohime and placing a hand on her shoulder. Everyone in the circus troupe, however, had such cold smiles that none of the forest children caught on. “Ms. Ringmaster! It’s time for the initiation phase of our little party, right?” 

Ayaka chuckled, letting the other circus members surround the now bemused children. The ringmaster started to conduct, muttering the key word before the transformation happened before her. Kurumi became a clown, Kokoro an animal tamer, Yuhane a unicycler, and Momohime a tightrope walker. With this, Ayaka’s troupe was complete. She had more than enough people to hold a proper performance in front of an audience. 

Within the time she spent as a ringmaster, Hirose Ayaka had already killed eleven people and turned them into undead beings. 

* * *

For a while, Ayaka’s circus troupe was complete. They opened up the tent and formally held circus performances for weary people who walked by the woods every evening. They garnered a lot of attention, which brought in people from town with full intentions of seeing the grotesque, yet oddly satisfying performance that Ayaka’s circus troupe held every day. 

However, there had been one regular visitor that caught Ayaka’s attention. 

With the little remaining sanity she had left, Ayaka prevented herself to not come up to her, but there was something about the lanky girl that brought the young ringmaster to her. She was always so intrigued by the performances, and the first time she came around she showed absolutely no fear. Just pure enjoyment. Curiosity with a hint of adventure. All the things she saw in her troupe’s eyes when they wandered into her tent. But it was her  _ face _ that drew Ayaka in more than anything. The face she bore strongly resembled her lost marionette from when she was a little girl. 

_ Hamachan _ . 

The ringmaster  _ needed _ her.

Ayaka decided to approach her after too much dawdling after a performance. Everyone had left and the young lady was the last to leave. The ringmaster managed to stop her before she could leave, and with her usual cold smile, she greeted her. “I notice that you are a regular to our shows. If it’s okay with you, may I ask your name?”

The young lady found it strange that out of all people, she would be approached by the ringmaster. However, she only smiled politely and bowed. “Hamaura Ayano. I always get hyped up seeing your troupe’s performances that I always want to keep coming back” she complimented. Though Ayano noticed that the ringmaster blocked the exit, preventing her from leaving the tent. “Is… Is something the matter?”

_ Hamaura Ayano. Even your name sounds like Hamachan’s. This has to be fate. _

“... You see. I need one last member in my circus troupe,” Ayaka responded in her usual straightforward tone, but said nothing after that as the silence caved between them. It seemed as if Ayano was scared of asking for who, as she had a feeling of what the answer would be. The ringmaster noticed her hesitation, and only smiled once more. “You.”

The other circus members who had been cleaning up from their show all turned towards Ayaka with a puzzled look on their faces. “What do you mean?! I thought we were complete already?” asked Kokoro, who managed to recover from her shock quite quickly. “Miss Ringmaster, what are you talking about?” The other members began to protest, leaving Ayano in a speechless state, until Ayaka stopped them all. 

“That’s what I thought, too. However, there’s one missing asset to my performance. I believe Miss Hamaura Ayano here would be the perfect candidate for this role,” explained Ayaka. Everyone hushed up quickly, trusting their leader with this decision. After all, they virtually felt nothing, and their protests are simply the result of them digging through their old memories to imitate human emotions. 

Though the trust they built was not false. If Ayaka told them something, it was for the best. 

However, Ayano was still confused and needed answers. “Hold on, hold on!” protested Ayano, waving her hands in front of her. “What do you mean me? A circus member? I don’t have the skills that everyone here has!” Ayano looked around the circus tent. It felt different now that the circus troupe was not performing. The air felt cold, almost  _ dead _ that it only now began to scare Ayano. 

“Nonsense. Everyone, please come here.” Ayaka gestured for everyone to come, and as soon as she did, the rest of the troupe dropped whatever it was they were holding and lined themselves up by Ayano and Ayaka. They surrounded the two, though all of their attention was towards the petrified young lady. “I have the  _ perfect _ role for you,  _ Hamachan _ .” 

Ayaka started to conduct. “ _ Hamachan _ , this is what we call an initiation phase.  _ Initium _ is the magic word, so just stay still for a bit.”

Ayano was beyond paralyzed with fear, as the chilly ambiance of the tent made her understand what was about to happen. The pairs of eyes sizing her up only added to her terror. She could not scream for help, and instead, only witnessed everything fading to black as Ayaka finished her conducting. What now stood in her place had been a small marionette with severed strings and a blank smile, however, it began to stand on its own. 

It looked around in confusion, before Ayaka scooped it up in her arms and hugged it. “Ah, welcome back, Hamachan! I’ve missed you, my friend!” chimed Ayaka. The little marionette began to tremble, but could not open its mouth to speak as it was only painted on. 

Hamaura Ayano had become a marionette. Moreover, she looked exactly like the marionette that Ayaka owned. No matter how much she wanted to cry out, there was no way she could be heard.  _ Please, help me,  _ she could only cry out in her head. Ayano was dreading the thought of being stuck as a marionette forever.

Now Hirose Ayaka’s circus troupe was truly complete. The only thing left to do was to create the greatest circus act that anyone has ever seen. 


End file.
